


hard feelings

by dreamersball



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, AtLA, F/M, Pre-college, tyzula baby!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:10:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26220133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamersball/pseuds/dreamersball
Summary: high school relationships don't always last.tyzula high school.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 69





	hard feelings

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by the song "hwy 18" and college beginnings. i own nothing.

ty lee’s aura was practically shining through her clothing. she was having the most fantastic night, perhaps in her lifetime. 

it was her going away party; small town Caldera girl heading to Ba Sing Se University. it was a huge school, in the biggest city in the world, and it would be a tremendous change for the talented gymnast. 

she wasn’t afraid though, she had her best friend suki as her roommate and the rest of her friends will be in or around the city for their futures. katara was going to be working at the university hospital as a healer, while sokka was going to train at  _ Piando’s Gym  _ to be a future soldier/ambassador for the water tribe. mai was skipping college for now-  _ it’s a scam-  _ and choosing to work at the flower shop that was coincidentally near iroh and zuko’s tea shop.

however, two of her friends were splitting off. well, one technically. 

aang chose to head back to his home at Southern Air Temple, to study under monk gyatso. everyone could feel it coming; but it didn’t make it any less sad. katara and aang swore they could do long distance, which gave ty lee a lot of hope.

because that’s what she’ll have to do with her own girlfriend.

azula, though being a near genius and talented soccer player, wasn’t going to BSSU. azula was accepted at the Royal Fire Nation University; for her soccer skills and family name.

(azula confided in ty lee that it was never her first choice, that she wanted to accept the scholarship

at BSSU) 

(but ozai wouldn’t let her ruin the family name by attending an earth kingdom school like zuko did) 

(both girls were still struggling with the idea of being far apart).

thus, ty lee made it her mission to make it work. even during her own party, she was determined to strengthen her relationship. 

it was a tough task though. every two seconds, sokka would drag her on the dance floor.  _ ty lee, this is our song!  _ every single time. admittedly, sokka was a skillful dancer on the dance floor, and ty lee wasn’t terrible either. she just wished suki would dance with sokka instead of encouraging the boys antics. 

(and for the record, ty lee didn’t care for  _ Mo Bamba  _ and preferred  _ WAP  _ over it)

besides that, katara had made it her mission to take pictures of every moment at the party. ty lee could feel her smile fading each flash, but she kept it up for her best friend. she knew that katara’s girl friends were extremely important to her since she lost her mother. 

and as if her wonderful best friends couldn’t do much more, aang wouldn’t stop asking ty lee to do some air bending tricks with him. she wasn’t a bender of course, but aang liked to believe due to her light feet and aerodynamic gymnastic moves, he could force some bending into her. so besides taking pictures, dancing her heart out, and doing flips with aang, ty lee was having a hard time tracking down her girlfriend.

eventually, once sokka, suki, and mai fell asleep by the punch table, and aang and katara started a movie in the guest room, and the guests all left; ty lee had time to look for her wayward girlfriend. 

she scoured the house for half an hour or so. with momo on her shoulder, the pair searched through the basement and room upstairs. 

as she was passing by the front door, she saw a small blue flame dance between two fingers. ty lee smiled, and walked out the front door. there, she found her girlfriend in that familiar leather jacket, sitting on the concrete porch step.

azula was staring at the bright full moon, her features illuminated by its light. ty lee could make out a cigarette between her lips, and a new scar across azula’s neck. she frowned, and sat down gingerly next to the girl.

azula startled slightly at the girl’s movement, but she relaxed once she saw who it was.  _ looked like a fun party ‘lee.  _

ty lee pouted, and laid her head on her girlfriends shoulder.  _ you could’ve come joined, you know.  _

azula laughed sharp and short, and took another drag of the cigarette.  _ you looked busy with your friends. i don’t belong with them.  _

the gymnast pouted harder, and reached over and knocked the cigarette out of the girls hand. azula protested, and she squashed the once lit cigarette. ty lee rolled her eyes but patted her girlfriends knee.  _ you know they love you. knock it off. what’s going on?  _

the fire bender averted her eyes away from ty lee. the gymnast saw her girlfriend’s hands begin to shake, and she moved to cover them. instead, she startled as azula yanked her hands away. 

_ zula, _ she whispered. 

though her girlfriend was looking away from her, ty lee could see tears slip down her face in the moonlight. the gymnast’s heart broke even more. 

_ azula _ she began, knowing it was time to talk about college and distance. she took a deep breath, and screwed her eyes shut.  _ do you want this to end? do you want me? are we built for this?  _

as the words rushed out of her like a dam, ty lee took gulping breaths of air in to keep calm. before she could open her mouth to continue, azula cut her off.

_ who do you think i am?  _ she snapped, looking right back at ty lee. the gymnast moved over a little, scared.  _ who do you think you are, ty lee? are you that stupid to think i want to end this? that i’m that heartless?  _

ty lee looked at her, shaking her head as tears still falling down. she saw azula’s guarded eyes, desperate and panicked. she saw the fire benders hands shake, the scars on her neck and fingers brighter in the blue light. there were flames sparking out of the fingertips of her girlfriend. ty lee moved back even more, almost on the edge of the concrete step. 

azula saw her movements, and ty lee could see in her eyes the panic beginning to change to regret. the flames began to die out, and azula began to relax. the fire bender gingerly took ty lee’s hands in her own, and spoke quietly.

_ who do you think we’ll be? with distance? will we be the same?  _

_ (will you still love me?)  _

__ (azula always wanted to be loved)

ty lee could feel her heart ache, and she pulled azula in for a hug.  _ i promise that i love you. i will never stop. this won’t change us. i promise. i promise.  _

she felt azula shake in her arms, and her shirt became wet with tears. ty lee kept whispering  _ i love you, i promise _ , over and over until azula was gently breathing in her arms.

the pair stayed that way for a while, until suki came out with a blanket and wrapped it around the couple. katara eventually left water bottles and some pillows, while sokka made sure the yard was safe and clear for the two of them. 

ty lee always had the best friends, and the best girlfriend.

(besides, azula would surprise ty lee the next day with matching messenger hawks)

(azula named hers  _ flames _ , while ty lee named hers  _ dancer _ )

(sokka got one for himself and named it hawkey)

(suki was wholly unimpressed) 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> was feeling a little melancholic about college relationships. more updates later this week, i have classes so it may be slow! thank you for reading!


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